1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to card games, specifically “low ball” poker games, and methods for dealing them, either physically or by electronic representations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Poker has been a popular card game for more than a century. Today, hundreds of card rooms and casinos provide poker rooms for players to play against other players. These are considered class two games by the gaming industry. (Class two games are games in which the players bet against each other.) At the start of each poker hand, players have only a vague idea of how many bets it may cost to play the hand through to the end. Various games require from two to five betting intervals, with three to five raises usually allowed.
With just a five-dollar minimum bet, a single hand could cost forty to one hundred fifty dollars to see the hand through to the end. Even if a player wins the bet, their return for bets invested is highly uncertain.
The more bets a player places in the pot, the greater the mental stress becomes in making decisions to continue calling bets to the end of the hand. This pressure often causes players to loose their mental control. Their method of play and money management can completely disintegrate. A fun game suddenly becomes a disaster filled with stress.
For the foregoing reasons, only a small percentage of casino patrons ever enter the poker room. The majority of casino patrons are seeking relaxation and enjoyment for their gambling dollar.
Games that require just one bet per hand are much less stressful to play. Therefore, some players seek out games such as blackjack, craps or mini-baccarat. These are the most favorable games for the player, when played correctly. They minimize the up and down fluctuations of the player's chips. This, in turn, leads to more sound mental control.
Other players seek out the elusive large payments for small bets that slot machines appear to offer. However, their money usually dwindles away, unless they hit a lucrative payout or two. In the last decade a large variety of new games have appeared in the casino pit areas. Most of these new games are considered class three games by the gaming industry. (Class three games are games in which the players bet against the house.) A common feature seems to dominate most new games. Their inventors tend to cede overwhelming odds to the casinos, much to the detriment of the players. They seem to feel that this feature will cause their games to be more readily accepted by the casinos looking for quick profits.
Variations of class three poker games seem to be the most appealing to adventurous players. However, the most knowledgeable poker players avoid these games. They quickly realize that the lopsided rules favoring the casinos leave them virtually no chance to win. A large percentage of these poker games require the dealer to have a reasonably good starting hand to “qualify” playing against the players' hands. In most instances, this qualifying rule will encompass close to half of all hands received.
Players are required to place their first bet after receiving their poker hand. Additional bets are required, or they loose their first bet. It is at this point that the dealer's qualifying rule places the greatest pressure on the players. Slightly under 50% of the time, the value of a player's hand dictates folding their hand and giving up their bet. The sub-par value of their hand has no chance of winning additional bets, whether the dealer qualifies or not. When the dealer's hand does qualify, slightly over 50% of the time the player loses all bets.
If the player receives a hand better than the minimum hand the dealer requires to qualify, placing additional bets might be in order. However, risking additional bets still has more negatives than positives. Almost half the time, the player receives no payoff for the extra bets at risk, each time the dealer does not qualify. On the other hand, when the dealer does qualify, it becomes a virtual toss-up whether the dealer or the player will win. At best, this break even chance occurs 30% of the time. The player is clearly the underdog on all other occasions.
Overall, the rules tend to place the player in a no-win situation. A long shot straight flush or better is the player's best hope to walk away a winner. The average chance of this happening is about 65,000 to one.
The unfavorable rules for the player seem to destine players to lose from the moment they place their first bet. Some players realize that their best choice is to concede their losses and leave quickly. Others allow these types of table games to destroy their mental control and exhaust their chips. Facing one dilemma after another, they have no chance to relax and enjoy themselves. Any chance of having a good time quickly disappears. Worst of all, when a player loses mental control, the Automatic Teller Machines are always too close by.
The present invention is designed to help alleviate many of the distressing decisions players face in most of these recently created table games. It is based on the game of low ball poker. Years ago, the first low ball poker games was invented. “Low ball” means that the worst poker hand is the winner. The worst possible hand was 7-5-4-3-2, disallowing any ace high, pairs, three or four of a kind, straights and flushes.
When California low ball became the dominant low ball game, a 5-4-3-2-A was deemed the lowest possible hand, with an ace or joker being counted one. Since this hand was a five high straight, it was decided that all straights and flushes would be of no consequence in declaring the lowest hand. This concept generally became accepted for most low ball games, including high-low split games, seven-card stud, hold-em, and Omaha poker. This created more exciting possibilities for these games, thereby developing more betting action.
The present inventors have conceived an original idea to create even more exciting possibilities in the low ball games of the present invention, by declaring pairs and three or four of a kind to be of no consequence in determining the best low hand. The instant invention uses this modified low hand poker count in a class three game.
The prior art low ball games create nine basic possibilities for low hands: King low, Queen low, Jack low, ten low, nine low, eight low, seven low, six low, and five low. With pairs (and three or four of a kind) of no consequence, four additional possibilities are created for low hands: four low, trey (or three) low, deuce (or two) low, and Ace (or one) low (four aces or three aces and a joker). This establishes thirteen basic low hands in total.
This game is further modified (in its preferred embodiments) to deal four-card poker hands instead of the standard five-card poker hands. This produces more frequents winnings for the players, when they place from five to nine separate bets on low hands of nine or less. All such bets must be in equal amounts, except (in the first preferred embodiment) for the one low bet, which will be fifty cents only.
The primary purpose of this game is to provide the players with a chance to relax and enjoy themselves. To this end, the game provides a single betting interval at the start of each hand. No additional betting or other decisions are required of the players to complete the hand. The game also provides the players a chance to win large payouts for relatively small bets.
There have been numerous prior inventions of casino and card games, but none that are equivalent to the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,433, issued on Mar. 12, 1974, to Walter C. Fraley, James T. Hendrix and Charles A. Bell, discloses an electronic gaming device simulating the game of blackjack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,485, issued on May 27, 1997, to Bill W. Woodland and Linda M. Woodland, discloses a card game with side bet options, which may be played either on a game board or on an electronic gaming device. Wagers are placed after an initial display of two cards. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that all four cards are displayed at one time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,663, issued on Sep. 22, 1998, to Joseph V. Bochichio and Robert S. Pinchbeck, discloses a method of playing a high/low card game, in which three cards are dealt to each player and four cards to the dealer. Only low hands of six low or less have any value as a low hand. Pairs, three of a kind, and three-card straights and flushes do not count as low hands. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it is strictly a low ball game, and it includes an array on nine squares.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,419, issued on Jun. 15, 1999, to Thomas A. Delaney and Bennett M. Wilgard, discloses a method and apparatus for playing bettor's choice draw poker, including rectangular playing areas on a table. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that the hands are ranked differently, and it uses a different betting system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,081, issued on Jul. 27, 1999, to Joseph V. Bochichio and Robert S. Pinchbeck, discloses a high/low card game, in which there are several rounds of dealing and betting. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it includes only one round of dealing and betting.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,033, issued on Jan. 25, 2000, to Claude Keller, discloses a method of playing a casino game, which rewards a player for how quickly he can “lose”. The instant invention is distinguishable, in that it does not include the use of a timer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,210,279, issued on Apr. 3, 2001, to Peter D. Dickinson, discloses a gaming machine and method using a touch screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,474, issued on Sep. 4, 2001, to David Guy de Keller, discloses a method for playing a casino game, with rectangular betting areas on a table.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,075, issued on Nov. 27, 2001, to Ann DeFranco, discloses a blackjack-type card game, where each player is dealt a four-card array.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,505, issued on Aug. 20, 2002, to Arthur Hoffman, discloses a method for playing a game of chance, with indicia including numbers on a playing board, which indicia are distinguishable from the indicia in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,020, issued on Nov. 26, 2002, to John Broadnax, discloses a casino card game, with a game board with indicia including numbers. Again, the indicia are readily distinguishable from the indicia in the instant invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,830, issued on Feb. 25, 2003, to Tsuan Yuan, discloses a casino game, in which the aces may be valued at one or zero.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/195775, published on Dec. 26, 2002, by Derek J. Webb and Roger M. Snow, discloses four card poker and associated games, including indicia on a table.
British Patent Application No. 2 239 811, published on Jul. 17, 1991, by Denis Fluen, discloses a betting game, including a game board with numbered play zones, which is played with dice, rather than cards as in the instant invention.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.